The Familiar Stranger
by Amanda N. Lupin
Summary: Nearly a year after the fall of Voldemort, a vindicated Severus Snape is discovered in a muggle hospital without any memories of the past or the wizarding world. Can Hogwart's new healer nurse him back to health, before they drive each other insane?


"Headmistress," Hermione said surprised with a small curtsey. "to what do I owe the pleasure? You are not feeling ill I hope." the young witch asked concernedly.

"No my dear, I feel fine, thank you madam Granger." she said with the slightest twitch of a smile flashing across her lips. "I believe I have told you on several occasions that you may call me Minerva now." she said gently, seeing the grimace the younger witch had for her title. "I have a new charge for you miss Granger, Hermione." she said correcting herself. "The medi-witches from Saint Mungos should be bringing him here presently, but in the meantime I believe it would be best if I explained the patient and his unfortunate circumstances.

"If they are coming to us so unexpectedly in the middle of term, surely this isn't a student."

"Quite right, he is not, but I dare say that he was once, one of our own."

"Who is it Minerva?"

"Someone who until recently, I, and most of the magical community believed to be dead. Perhaps you best sit down dear." she said carefully, summoning two chairs to them, and bidding her to be seated. "It's Severus Snape." she whispered shakily.

"What?" Hermione gasped. "No, it can't be. We...we saw him...watched him die. The nightmare of it still haunts me." she sputtered, only half aware of what she was admitting to her former professor and her present employer.

"Yes, well, I can acknowledge that is what you believed you, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Weasley witnessed. The facts remain however, that when a party returned to the Shrieking shack his body had disappeared, and the aurors have managed to confirm his identity."

"He is alive then?" she asked astonished. McGonagall nodded heavily, her expression distant and thoughtful as she had often observed in Dumbledore' years as Headmaster.

"In perfect health, except that he carries no recollection of who he is or his past other than what he has been told."

"His memories..." she gasped.

"Yes, as you are well aware Harry gave them to the ministry for evidence. They are scrambling as we speak to recover them all and restore them to him, but I dare-say it may take them some time to do so. No one could have anticipated he would ever return and be in need of them."

"What does he remember?"

"Absolutely nothing, he has been told about wizards and Hogwarts, the necessities..."

"How did he return in the first place?"

"An anonymous tip, he was found in a muggle hospital in London."

"But Prof, Minerva, it's nearly a year since the battle of Hogwarts." she gaped astonished. "Why is he being moved here, surely Saint Mungos has better..."

"I have absolute faith in your abilities as a healer miss Granger. Besides, I rather hoped that perhaps being back home might jog some of his memories."

"But what could I possibly..." At that precise moment, the doors to the hospital wing opened and a stretcher carrying the unconscious form of Severus Snape, followed by a medi-witch entered.

"We gave him some Draught of the Living Death so he wouldn't be addled by apparating over here" she explained quickly, seeing Hermione' worried expression. Hermione nodded, but began an examination of him herself.

He looked peaceful asleep, his hair fanned out across the pillow, as she gazed at him. She let a soft hand brush a stray piece of hair from his face, it wasn't greasy as everyone in her year had assumed, but very fine. Checking to affirm everyone else had left, she fell into a chair beside his bed and let the tears she had been holding back fall freely.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered softly. "I didn't... I thought... oh bugger it all!" she exclaimed in frustration. One of his eyebrows raised in a familiar expression of half amusement.

"You are far chattier than my last caretaker." he mumbled softly with a wry grin, slowly opening his eyes to look at her. She gasped in surprise and was immediately silenced. "I wasn't complaining." he chuckled, but Hermione continued to stare at him in amazement, was he laughing? Severus Snape laughing? And grinning? " You're much nicer to look at too." he added softly. She blushed and looked away. It was the very same silky voice she remembered, but bore none of the subtle animosity or cruel undertones she remembered. Suddenly she felt the pad of his thumb on the back of her hand and realized her hand was still on his, she quickly ripped it away. "I should know you." he said solemnly with sudden dawning comprehension. "You knew me. You knew me, and you didn't like me."

"That's not true." she whispered softly, eyes still watery as she gazed into his deep black ones. He shook his head.

"How did we know each other?"

"You were the Potions master here at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." He had been the Defense-Against-the-Dark-Arts professor for a year, and Headmaster too, but she decided not to give him more information, thinking he would need time to process each new piece. "I was your student." He seemed to cringe, almost imperceptibly in his bed.

"Um...How old am I?" he tried awkwardly, Hermione paused thoughtfully, calculating.

"Forty-one." Severus sighed disparagingly, closing his eyes as though keeping them open demanded to much effort, and she decided it best to leave him to rest.

"Goodnight Professor."

"Wait." he said grabbing her wrist, arresting her as she had begun to walk away to her chambers. "What is your name?" he asked desperately. His eyes were pained, the look he gave her was a combination of apologetic and deepest shame.

How horrible she thought, that the first thing he should relearn was guilt and shame, and so unjustly placed. "It's alright, it's not your fault you can't remember." she soothed, she bent down and kissed him lightly on the forehead. She couldn't say later why exactly she had done it, but she had been thrown by the almost child-like innocence of the man in front of her; it had felt right. "Hermione Granger." she whispered softly, pulling his sheets up tighter around him. "Now please, try to get some sleep." she whispered softly. He nodded. "Shall I fetch another potion to help you to sleep? Tea perhaps, Professor?"

"No, I have too few memories to be troubled with unsettling dreams. Call me Severus." he whispered sleepily. She smiled, pulling shut his curtain before extinguishing the lights with a wave of her wand.


End file.
